


What Happened In Irkngthand...

by RainySpringMorning



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen, Irkngthand, Nightingale Powers, Nocturnal's playing with her chessboard again, Skeleton Key, Thieves Guild & Nightingales
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 01:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5608828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainySpringMorning/pseuds/RainySpringMorning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>....unfortunately didn't stay in Irkngthand.</p><p>Disclaimer: Skyrim belongs to Bethesda Game Studios.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Happened In Irkngthand...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunnyautumnmorning](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunnyautumnmorning/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Reach Heaven by Violence](https://archiveofourown.org/works/941143) by [mongoose_bite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mongoose_bite/pseuds/mongoose_bite). 



> The manhunt for Mercer is on... but Nocturnal is a Daedra, and the Daedra love to play with their pawns. This is a work in progress that began as a Christmas gift for the author of 'Mercer's Folly', and I suspect the updates to be infrequent. Partly inspired by mongoose_bite's unfinished 'Reach Heaven By Violence' (which is a really great read - highly recommended).

The cavern gave a tremendous shudder. The overhead yellow pipes, straining with the building pressure, groaned malevolently before bursting, letting down a rapid flow of water from the lake above and onto the space where the young Bosmer markswoman had stood. Brynjolf’s alarmed cry was lost in the noise of splitting rock, and Karliah yanked him back by the end of his cloak; a chunk of falling stalactite crunched where he had stood a minute ago.

Mercer surveyed the scene with a grimace. The cavern was becoming unstable with every second, and every heartbeat meant less of a chance of him escaping from the reaches of the reformed Trinity – and the ruin, he added with a look of distaste at the rising level of water. There was no other route to exit besides the door which he had entered, but would he dare risk going near the others? He’d seen Brynjolf in close combat – the man could become a whirling killing machine if need be. And Karliah… well, he certainly didn’t want to give her the opportunity to slit his throat. Mercer knew that she wouldn’t hesitate if given the chance.

But the little Bosmer – Enid. She was savage; Mercer had seen the full brunt of her sixty-plus years of marksman training put to the test at Snow Veil. The draugr had dropped like flies in a heatwave, and he’d felt her daggers brush the back of his neck more than once in close quarters. And yet Mercer knew that of all of them, Enid’s heart wasn’t so savage; they both knew that the true hatred existed between himself and Karliah, a cat and mouse game that had spanned decades. He’d confided the truth to Enid, after Karliah had gone, leaving her to his mercy: how he’d once felt for the Dunmer, before she’d stabbed him in the heart – figuratively – and chose Gallus over him.

There was a trust between them that Mercer was willing to utilize if it meant his survival.

Climbing down from the snow elf pedestal, he kept one eye open for where Enid had disappeared to. He’d seen her move before the cascade of water caught her, and he was certain that she would be searching for a way out. She was smart like that, always observing, always planning one step ahead as fast as possible. Mercer briefly tried to think like her, imagining where she might have moved herself to, where she would be searching.

The dagger against his throat from behind was his last expectation.

“Get on your knees,” Enid hissed in his ear. He obeyed, stooping slowly and wincing at the pain in his knees. The lake water was cold and he shivered as it soaked the leather, causing it to cling to his thighs uncomfortably. Enid disarmed him and threw his sword and dagger away, where they landed with a heavy splash. Mercer calculated the odds of reaching them.

“Enid…” He broke off at the sudden blazing pain at the side of his head, radiating through his skull and blinding him briefly. He tasted blood from where he’d bitten his lip. Enid hunched over him, her inhuman red eyes coming into focus as he blinked up at her, clutching his head. She’d hit him with the pommel of her dagger.

“You are a fool, Mercer Frey!” Enid hissed. “You should have run and not tried for one last jab at the Guild.”

“Oh, so this _isn’t_ personal?” Anger flared in her eyes at his sarcasm and she raised her hand slightly, threatening to hit him again.

“If it were personal, I’d have already finished you off,” she said, lips twisting into a bitter smile. “But your life isn’t mine to take, even if you did stab me. Karliah and Brynjolf decided that you must die, but I will not deliver the final blow.”

Mercer bowed his head in mock gratitude. Enid straightened, calling for them. He once again locked his eyes on the spot where his blades lay in wait. A plan was knitting together, and he prayed to Nocturnal that it would go smoothly. The cavern rumbled and he heard the distant crumbling of more rock. The sand in the glass was trickling away.

“Is he restrained?” Karliah’s voice was heard over a buckling crunch. Mercer saw Enid shake her head, and she moved around behind him, kneeling and pulling a strip of leather from her pocket. With a silent apology, Mercer lunged, whipping around and knocking Enid onto her back and under the surface of the water. He wrenched her dagger from her fingers and held it down over her throat, one knee pressing down on her belly.

“You know I won’t hesitate, Karliah!” Mercer growled as the Dunmer came within his range of sight. Behind her was a startled Brynjolf, whose eyes were fixed on Enid. “If she dies, your precious Trinity will be destroyed, and you will have no power here.”

“Mercer, let her go,” Karliah said, the venom in her voice colder than the grave. “This is our fight. Leave her out of it.”

“Do as the lass says,” Brynjolf uttered softly. “Enid never found quarrel with you.”

“There seems to be little trust between us, it seems,” Mercer stated, grasping a win in the feeble argument. Enid squirmed beneath him, a bubble of air rising from her submerged nose. “Karliah, why don’t you tell Brynjolf here what I did? Where the scar on her breast came from?”

Karliah’s lips remained pursed at the accusation, knowing Mercer was trying to turn Brynjolf against her.

“Oh, come on, Bryn,” Mercer drawled, a spike of taunt entering his tone. “Don’t be shy. We all know you’ve seen the girl in only her skin.” He glanced up, a smile pulling the corner of his mouth. “And definitely more than once.”

_“You bastard!”_

Releasing Enid briefly, Mercer conjured _Nightingale Subterfuge_ in his palm and flung it at the enraged Nord, watching victoriously as his eyes lit with its unbreakable control. Brynjolf wheeled around and pummelled Karliah, hitting hard enough to break ribs if not for the thick protection of the enchanted leather. His fist found a soft spot and Karliah cried out, staggering and curling to protect herself. Brynjolf used his momentum to shove her back against the crumbled ledge, one arm barring her windpipe, the other pressing his own dagger beneath the layered scaled over her stomach.

“Mercer, stop this!” Brynjolf howled; Karliah could see the visible strain as he fought Mercer’s control.

“Fight it,” she pleaded. “Fight it, Brynjolf.” She gasped as his arm involuntarily applied more pressure. Her eyes rolled, a dimness settling in, and she weakly struggled for air. Brynjolf keened in frustration, terrified at how Mercer clutched his very will.

A thundering crack scared the daylights out of them and both heads snapped back. The ceiling seemed to be dropping. Mercer plunged his hand down and grasped Enid’s collar, hauling her out of the way, his focus on Brynjolf ceasing. The Nord bundled Karliah into his arms and sheltered her against the ledge, a prayer to the divines on his lips.

The explosion was enormous, the shockwave splitting cracks into the walls. Water rushed in from around and above, roaring like a hoard of enormous growling bears. Gripping Enid’s flailing form under an arm, Mercer fought against the sucking waves and clambered back up the snow elf statue, ignoring her yells of protest. She punched at his side, cursing him, trying to twist back to see Brynjolf and Karliah. They’d disappeared under the wave. Her heart hammered in fear.

“Quit your wriggling,” Mercer hissed, pulling her around to see her face. Her war paint had washed off and the wide set of her large eyes in her narrow face gave an impression of innocence. It softened him briefly, but he gathered his focus, shaking her. “Enid.” Her pupils locked with his, obsidian moons set in a gleaming ruby.

“This is your fault,” she whispered, flinching as a stalactite crunched behind her. “Your greed has led to so much suffering. So much... death. When will it end?”

“A thief cannot change his ways,” Mercer reminded her. “Just as a dragon cannot change its scales.”

“No!” Enid shrieked, suddenly blazing with emotion. “This _must_ end!”

Wrenching her leg up, Enid’s knee connected with Mercer’s front, sending him reeling with a curse of pain. He slipped on the stairs and fell hard; scrabbling to right himself, Mercer raised his head, spitting with fury. Then he saw it. And so did Enid.

The Skeleton Key, lying between them on the step.

Enid dropped to hand and knee and hurled herself upon it as Mercer seized it in his fingers. Enid pulled on his hand, alive with desperation, but Mercer refused to open his fingers from their white-knuckled grip. He couldn’t let the key go.

Enid lowered her head and sank her teeth into the back of Mercer’s hand, tearing into the skin and muscle. Mercer screamed, rolling with the currents of pain until he couldn’t. His fingers loosened and Enid wrenched the key from his grasp, triumphant, mouth smeared with his blood.

“It’s mine!” she crowed. Mercer got to his feet, half-sunk in water, and moved towards her.

“Give me the key,” he ordered, low and quiet. He wouldn’t ask again. Enid shook her head, pressing the key to her bosom, paling with fear.

“Stay back,” Enid said, walking backwards up the steps. Mercer followed, purposefully slow, his eyes never leaving hers. “Mercer, I can’t give you the key. It must be returned.”

“Are you so quick to lay down your loyalty to that bitch?” he spat in disbelief. “Nocturnal doesn’t care about you. Karliah sees you as a means to an end. And Brynjolf is using you for his own selfish desires. I hope you’re smart enough to understand these things.”

“Don’t say those things,” Enid begged. “None of this needed to happen. You can change. I changed. Isn’t that proof enough that there’s hope for you, too? There’s no winning here, Mercer.”

Mercer paused. Was Enid right? Of course not. She was deliberately trying to prevent him from his goal. It wouldn’t work, in the end. Mercer could see right through her, and if he still had his blades on hand, he’d slice right through her if it meant winning. Enid seemed to read this because she firmly repeated herself, all begging leaving her tone and being replaced by a cold, hard decision.

Mercer didn’t understand – that is, not until Enid opened her mouth and send him soaring backwards and into the water. The force that had emitted from her still rang in his ears, deafening the crash of surging waves. At the same time, the echo of the force sent tremors through the walls around Enid and freed a stream of water, causing the steps to become slippery. Enid lost her balance and tumbled down, slamming into a body. A hand closed around her wrist and she panicked, fighting upwards. Head breaking the surface, she steeled herself, ready to fight if she needed.

“Brynjolf!” she rejoiced, relieved to see his familiar – if strained – features.

“Enid, where is Mercer? Does he have the key?”

“No,” Enid held it up in front of his nose, surprised that she had the capability to smile as heartily as she did. “I have it.”


End file.
